Trip to the Future
by Torchwood246
Summary: Ianto is pulled through the rift and meets the Face of Boe and the Doctor.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 **Ianto**

The day started out like a normal day. Well, as normal as a day at Torchwood ever was. I woke up in the hub next to Jack and silently got out of bed and put the coffee on. Half an hour later Jack woke up and we entered the main part of the hub and soon after everyone else arrived.

"Tosh check out the rift predictor and see what it says is going to happen today. Gwen, finish those reports from yesterday. Owen, we need that autopsy done on that alien from last night. Ianto we need you in the archives" Jack told everyone what they should do and we all went about our business as usual. For about five minutes.

"Jack, you need to see this" Tosh called and by the tone of her voice I could tell that something was up so I followed Jack and went to see what was happening.

"There is a major rift flare scheduled for this afternoon in a warehouse where lots of people work. We need to evacuate it because otherwise it's possible that a lot of them will be taken by the rift. We won't be able to keep up with it as there will be loads of families wanting answers." Tosh explained.

"Ok, Gwen, get on to the police and arrange for the warehouse to be evacuated by this afternoon. Say that Torchwood need to investigate. Tosh, try and narrow it down to a more specific time so that we can be there to stop people going inside and to see if anything is going to come out of it." Jack ordered and I went back to work.

Tosh came back later and said that the flare would happen at about two o'clock. Gwen arranged for the police to clear everyone out by the time we got there as we did not want anyone around when the rift flare appeared.

A few hours later we were in the SUV and were on the way to the warehouse. When we got there I was surprised by how big the warehouse was. No wonder we needed to get everyone evacuated. The police had put up tape around the site and had sent everybody home however I could see that some of the workers were still there, arguing with the police about why they had been sent home.

"I'm sorry but the area is to be evacuated, please leave the premises" one of the policeman was saying. I went up to the woman and told her that there was a bomb threat and that we were experts who were checking it out. After a few minutes of persuasion she left.

"Ok, Tosh, Gwen and Owen you stay outside and make sure that no one gets in. Ianto and I will go inside and wait for the flare" Jack decided.

"Are you sure? The rift flare could appear anywhere inside there it could be dangerous." Tosh warned.

"We will be very careful" Jack promised and we went inside.

The factory was enormous. It was mainly used for packaging sweet and chocolate so there was a nice smell all around. Then we waited for something to happen. After fifteen minutes nothing had happen and I could see that Jack was getting frustrated.

"Are you sure that Tosh got it right?" I asked.

"Yeah, I saw the readings myself. I think that it's just a little bit later than we thought" Jack replied.

We spread out through the warehouse. I went into another room that held the melted chocolate and looked hungrily at it. Suddenly bright light appeared and I ran to the door but the light blocked it and began spreading towards me. My heart started beating faster. I couldn't let the rift swallow me because I had seen what it did to some people. They changed and not for the better.

"Jack!" I called. The light came closer and I saw Jack appear at the doorway and his eyes widened as he saw what was happened. There was nowhere I could run.

"Ianto! Don't let it touch you!" Jack called.

"I'm trying not to!" I replied.

I backed up right against the wall and I realized that there was no escape. The light kept coming closer

"I'm sorry Jack" I cried as the light reached me and I was surrounded. The last thing I saw was Jack calling my name.


	2. Chapter 2

**The next chapter should be out in a day or so. Please review.**

 **Chapter two**

 **Ianto**

The room I was in was covered in cables and wires and there were skeletal bodies around me. Where the hell had I ended up?

In the corner was what looked like a huge face in a jar. The face was orange with three tentacles coming out each side. He seemed to be plugged into something. Kneeling in front of him was a man in a suit wearing a brown coat and what looked like a nurse with the face of a cat.

"He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke. But with no one to maintain it, the City's power died. The under-city would have fallen into the sea" the cat-nurse explained.

"So he saved them" the man in the brown coat replied, looking at the face in awe.

"The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running" the cat-nurse continued. I realized that I had heard the words "The Face of Boe" before but I could not remember where. I thought it could have been Jack but I wasn't certain.

The man in the brown coat then asked why she had not called other planets for help and the cat-nurse replied that the senate had declared New Earth unsafe and that there was a quarantine that would last one hundred years. That was when I realized that I must have come forwards thousands of years into the future and that as she said "New Earth" I realized that I must be on a different planet. Even though it looked exactly like the one I had just left. I wondered how I would ever get back.

"We had no choice" the cat nurse said.

"Yes you did" the man replied.

Suddenly the Face of Boe spoke and said "Save them, Doctor. Save them.". I then looked at the man again and realized that he was the Doctor that Jack spoke of.

"Excuse me" I said, as I came out from the corner in which I had been hiding.

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm Ianto Jones" I replied.

"Nice to meet you Ianto Jones I'm the Doctor" he said and reached out a hand for me to shake.

"Do you know a Captain Jack Harkness?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes, why do you ask?" the Doctor said, looking confused.

"I'm a friend of his and he told me about you. I was hoping you could help me" I told him.

"Of course. If I can. How can I help?" he asked.

"I fell through the Cardiff rift and I basically have no idea where I am" I explained.

"Oh you poor man. I assume you want me to take you home?" he said and I nodded, relived "but first I need to find my friend and save the planet"

As he said that I remembered what Jack told me about him. How he wandered time and space saving planets. I looked around myself at the skeletons.

"What happened here?" I asked.

"There was a virus that wiped out life on the surface. It's gone now but under the ground there is a motorway and the people there were trapped and kept alive by the Face of Boe here. Millions of people. However there is a creature trapped down there with them and it's time they escaped. My friend is trapped down there. She was kidnapped and it's my fault." The Doctor explained.

"So what are you doing to do?" I questioned.

 **Jack**

I was too late. Once the rift surge was over I ran into the room but Ianto was gone. I heard footsteps behind me and I could see Tosh and Owen enter behind me.

"Jack what happened? We heard shouting." Gwen asked "Where's Ianto?"

"It took him, the rift" I explained. Owen and Tosh looked shocked.

"I told you to be careful" Tosh said and I had to smother a spark of anger at her blaming me.

"I'm sorry it's my fault" I said and I sighed.

Gwen then entered the warehouse.

"What's happening? Has the rift flare happened yet?" she asked, but then she noticed our long faces "What happened. Where's Ianto?" She continued after looking around and seeing that Ianto wasn't there.

"The rift took him" I said and Gwen's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh my god. Poor Ianto" she said and put her hand to her mouth.

"I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do now. We will just have to wait and see if he reappears" Owen said and I realized that he was right. In a sober mood, we all headed back to the SUV.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is the next Chapter. Hope you enjoy it! Please, please, please review.**

 **Chapter three**

 **Ianto**

"I'm going to try and contact her first" he replied and went over to a computer and turned it on "Car four six five diamond six. It still registers! That's Martha. I knew she was good. Novice Hame, hold that in place. Think, think, think, think. Take the residual energy, invert it, feed it through the electricity grid" The Doctor began typing on the computer.

"There isn't enough power." The Cat-nurse, who I assumed was Novice Hame, replied when nothing happened.

"Oh, you've got power. You've got me. I'm brilliant with computers, you just watch. Hame, every switch on that bank up to maximum. I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people" The Doctor replied.

"So what are you going to do?" Novice Hame wondered.

"This!" the Doctor cried and he pushes a big switch however it makes all the lights go out.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. The transmitters are blocked. The signal can't get through." The Doctor cried. I went over to try and help but I could not make sense of any of it.

"Doctor" a voice said and I turned and realized that it was the Face of Boe.

"Yeah, hold on, not now" the Doctor replied.

"I give you my last" the Face of Boe said and he breathes out and the lights come back on. It was then that I realized that the Face of Boe was dying. I couldn't get out of my head the déjà vu I felt when I heard that name. I strained to remember where I had heard it before. Then I remembered and I had an idea who the Face of Boe was. It was Jack who had said those words before. When he had finally spoken to me about his family after his brother had blown up Cardiff.

 _"Where did you grow up?" I had asked._

 _"I grew up in the Boeshaine Peninsula with my parents and my brother Grey." He had replied._

 _"I was the first person to be signed up for the time agency. They were so proud. The Face of Boe they called me." He had added._

But this old face could not be Jack could it? He didn't age. But then I thought of all those times when he found an odd grey hair or something. We always laughed it off but now I thought about it I realized that he does age but slowly. Could this face be what he becomes after millions of years? I hoped not because I didn't want to think about how Jack would have felt about that.

"Hame, look after him. Don't you go dying on me, you big old face. You've got to see this. The open road. Ha!" the Doctor laughed and as I looked outside I saw a huge cavern opening and as the Doctor contacted people and told them to drive up a whole load of cars rose from the smoke.

"Doctor!" Novice Hame cried and I saw that the Face of Boe's tank had cracked and that he was lying on the floor dying. I didn't want to believe that he was Jack. I wouldn't.

Just then Martha came over. I was glad to see that she was ok. I didn't let on that I knew who she was as she did not seem to recognize me so I assumed that she had not met me yet. Even though we were in the future. God time travel is confusing.

"What's that?" she asked, looking at the Face of Boe.

"It's the Face of Boe. It's all right. Come and say hello. And this is Hame. She's a cat. And this is Ianto Don't worry. He's the one that saved you, not me" he explained.

"My lord gave his life to save the city, and now he's dying." Novice Hame cried.

"No, don't say that. Not old Boe. Plenty of life left." The Doctor replied.

"It's good to breathe the air once more" the Face of Boe said. We all gathered round and knelt by him. As I looked at him I couldn't help believing that he was Jack.

"Who is he?" Martha questioned.

"I don't even know. Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now." After he said that I knew who the Face of Boe was. It all fit, Jack at this point would have been living for a very long time, even if he hadn't gone back in time since. Tears filled my eyes as I realized that Jack was finally getting what he wanted: To die, saving the earth. He always said that was how he wanted to go if he had a choice. I realized that his life force was slipping away and that this time, he wouldn't come back.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is another Chapter. I hope you like it. Please, please review and tell me if you like it as it is only my second story. I should be posting another chapter tomorrow.**

 **Chapter four**

 **Ianto**

Soon afterwards Martha came over. I was glad to see that she was ok. I didn't let on that I knew who she was as she did not seem to recognize me so I assumed that she had not met me yet. Even though we were in the future. God time travel confused me.

"What's that?" she asked, looking at the Face of Boe.

"It's the Face of Boe. It's all right. Come and say hello. And this is Hame. She's a cat. And this is Ianto Don't worry. He's the one that saved you, not me" he explained.

"My lord gave his life to save the city, and now he's dying." Novice Hame cried.

"No, don't say that. Not old Boe. Plenty of life left." The Doctor replied.

"It's good to breathe the air once more" the Face of Boe said. We all gathered round and knelt by him. As I looked at him I couldn't help believing that he was Jack.

"Who is he?" Martha questioned.

"I don't even know. Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now." After he said that I knew who the Face of Boe was. It all fit, Jack at this point would have been living for a very long time, even if he hadn't gone back in time since. Tears filled my eyes as I realized that Jack was finally getting what he wanted: To die, saving the earth. He always said that was how he wanted to go if he had a choice. I realized that his life force was slipping away and that this time, he wouldn't come back.

 **Jack**

 _I couldn't sleep. I was just lying awake on my bed when phone rang. My heart began racing when I saw that it was Ianto._

 _I picked it up and said "Hello"_

 _"Jack, help me" a weak, strained voice replied but I could tell that it was Ianto._

 _"Ianto, where are you?" I asked._

 _"In the warehouse where I disappeared" he replied. I had suspected as much. The rift often deposited the people it had taken back where they had taken them from. It didn't stop it changing them though._

 _"Stay there I will be there as soon I can" and I put the phone down and I ran to put some clothes on and raced to the SUV._

 _Going more than a little over the speed limit and arrived at the warehouse. I raced inside and came face to face with a very old, burnt and decrepid, Ianto._

 _"Oh my god. What has the rift done to you?" I asked._

 **Ianto**

"Everything has it's time. You know that, old friend, better than most." The Face of Boe replied, echoing my thoughts whenever I saw Jack dead.

"The Legend say's more" Novice Hame began but the Doctor interrupted her.

"Don't. There's no need for that." He pleads.

"It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveler." She continued and I looked at the Doctor as a traveler was a perfect description for him.

"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?" the Doctor replied.

"I have seen so much. Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours. Doctor." The Face of Boe said and I thought about all the things he must have seen and I shuddered.

"That's why we have to survive. Both of us. Don't go." The Doctor pleaded.

"I must. But know this, Time Lord. You are not alone." The Face of Boe replied. The Doctor gasped at what he said and I realized that was his greatest secret. But what did it mean? As I was pondering this, the Face of Boe breathed out for one last time and my tears spilled over. This was Jack's final death. After millions of years. I realized what becoming this would do to him. I hoped that someone was there to help him. I knew that I would be dead by then.


	5. Chapter 5

**I hope you like this chapter. I am sorry that it is quite short but I have been quite busy lately. Please, please comment and review. Especially if you see any mistakes.**

 **Chapter five**

 **Jack**

 _I went over to Ianto and I knew that he was dying. But I was not prepared to accept it. I ran back to the SUV and grabbed a medic-bag. I raced back and knelt by him, attending to the wounds._

 _"Come on Ianto, stay with me" I begged._

 _"It's too late" he replied and closed his eyes._

 _"No don't go. Please come back. No!" I screamed as I shook his body, knowing he was gone but refusing to accept it._

I woke up still screaming from the nightmare, still feeling like I was holding Ianto in my arms. My eyes were filled with tears and I wiped my eyes. I missed Ianto. Ianto would normally help me when I had a nightmare but he was not there tonight. How I wished the rift would spare him though I knew it was an impossibility. The rift never spared any of its unfortunate victims. However as he had been gone five days I didn't think that he would be returned.

 **Ianto**

After the death of the Face of Boe, the Doctor, Martha and I headed back to his Tardis through a back street that reminded me a lot of Cardiff, even though the Doctor told me that we were in New York. Well, New New York. Martha then asked the Doctor what the Face of Boe's last words meant. However the Doctor was avoiding the question until Martha insisted.

"You don't talk. You never say. Why not?" she asked. Her question sounded a lot like one I would ask of Jack. I never knew that he and the Doctor were so alike.

Suddenly we heard singing. The people that the Doctor had freed were singing. It was beautiful. The Doctor then answered Martha's question.

"I lied to you, because I liked it. I could pretend. Just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt orange sky. I'm not just a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else." The Doctor replied.

"What happened?" Martha asked.

"There was a war. A Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky. Oh you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song." The Doctor described. I had only ever seen such loneliness in Jack's eyes, I felt sorry for them both. The blessing of immortality had become a curse.

We soon went into the Tardis and I was on my way home. I was relieved that I had come out of the rift mostly unharmed. However, I knew that I would be haunted for the rest of my life by the memory of Jack's death. However I knew that I had been spared a worse pain.

"Ok, here we are, just outside the hub." The Doctor announced.

"How long after I left?" I asked.

"Shouldn't be too long" he replied.

"How long is not too long?" I questioned.

"A few hours. Not long." The Doctor answered.

I said goodbye and exited the Tardis.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it's short again but I hope that you like it. Please comment and review if you like it. I should be posting another chapter tomorrow.**

 **Chapter six**

 **Ianto**

It was night and so I instead of going to the hub I went to the bedroom hidden off at the side which was where Jack normally slept. I entered and I saw him tossing fretfully in his sleep.

"Ianto. Don't leave me" he mumbled and I began to think that I had been gone longer than a few hours.

"Jack" I whispered "Wake up. I'm back" Instantly his eyes shot open and surprised filled them when he saw me. He instantly sat up and began looking me over for damage.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yes" I replied "I'm fine"

He reached out and cupped my face and I realized that my tears from earlier were still streaking it.

"You've been crying" he accused "The rift never returns anyone unharmed".

My eyes filled up again as I remembered all that I had seen.

"Come on, we can talk in the morning" Jack replied and he pulled me towards the bed but I shook my head. I couldn't spend the night in his arms knowing what I know about his future. I just couldn't. I took my hand out of his and turned towards the door.

"Don't go" Jack pleaded.

"I'm sorry. I can't. At least not yet. I just wanted to tell you I was back" I said and I ran outside, tears streaming down my face. I didn't want to look back at the look of hurt on his face. I then took a taxi back to my apartment. I found my phone and was very surprised when I saw that I had been gone five days. So much for a few hours. However I knew that the next day I would have to face Jack asking what happened. However hard I tried I couldn't think of anything that I could say that would convince him that I was telling the truth. Without telling the truth. As soon as I got back I went to bed and was plagued with memories of Jack dying all night.

 **Jack**

As soon as Ianto left I got dressed as fast as I could and I used the CCTV to follow him. I was relieved when I saw that he just went back to his apartment. I decided that I would leave it until tomorrow and then I would talk to him. I wondered what he could possibly have seen that warranted his reaction. His eyes were filled with so much sadness. Why hadn't he let me help him? I just couldn't understand.

 **Ianto**

In the morning I woke up and sighed as I remembered what I would have to do. I didn't want to lie to Jack but it was for his own good. In the end I decided that I would text Jack and say that I was taking the day off to recover. It would give me more time to think of a suitable story. I sent it at soon as I had got dressed and got a reply almost at once.

"Ok. Will come over this evening to check that you are alright." He replied.

I had hoped that he wouldn't do that. But it at least gave me time to think of something to say. Over the day I decided that I would tell him that I arrived on a spaceship and saw the earth be burnt up by the sun. Millions of years in the future. I would tell the truth about the Doctor taking me home. At seven o'clock I heard a knock at the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry this one is a very short one. I should be posting the last chapter tomorrow. Please review.**

 **Chapter seven**

 **Jack**

I entered Ianto's apartment and found him sitting on his sofa watching television. I went over and put my arms around him.

"Now, tell me what happened" I ordered. I had to know what it was that made him tear up yesterday and what made him run away.

"I ended up on a spaceship. It was there to witness the burning of the earth by the sun. Millions of people were dying. I found the Doctor there and he agreed to take me back home" he replied and I saw a few tears fall down his face but it was not the same as last night. He wasn't telling the truth.

"So…why did you run away from me last night then?" I asked, trying to expose the lie.

"Because I wanted to be alone." he replied and he moved a bit further away from me on the sofa and turned his face away from me. There was definitely something he wasn't telling me.

"I don't believe you" I said "I know that you're sympathetic but I doubt seeing the end of the earth would do this. Besides, the Doctor would have told you that the human race survive and go on to discover a new planet very similar to earth." He'd given a good performance but I knew Ianto well.

"I'm telling the truth" he insisted.

"You're not. Why are you lying to me?" I questioned.

"I swear I'm not" he persisted.

"Ianto. Stop lying to me. Whatever you saw you can tell me." I told him

"I can't. I really can't. Please Jack, just leave it." he begged, tears beginning to stream down his face.

"You can. I can help." I insisted.

"No you can't. You don't understand" he replied "Please, just go. I'll be at work tomorrow morning"

"Ok, but this is not over" I said and I left. Hurt and betrayal flowed through my veins. Why was Ianto not telling me what happened?

I went back to the hub and tried to get some sleep but I couldn't stop thinking about Ianto and what he wasn't telling me. In the end I got up and found some beer and drank myself into oblivion.


	8. Chapter 8

**This is the final chapter I'm afraid. I hope that you have enjoyed this story. I should be starting another one soon. Please look out for it if you have enjoyed this review.**

 **Chapter eight**

 **Ianto**

I came in the next day, expecting Jack to be there trying to get me to tell him what happened. I hadn't managed to think of anything so I decided that I would just refuse to talk about it. Jack could not know what happened.

However when I entered the hub it was silent. I wandered along to where Jack usually slept and found him passed out surrounded by bottles of beer.

"Oh Jack, what have you done?" I said and knelt beside him and checked his wrist. It was then that I realized he was dead. Again. Suddenly he gasped and woke up.

"Jack what the hell were you doing?" I asked.

"Couldn't sleep…thought beer would help" he gasped.

"You must stop doing this to yourself. You never know that one time you won't wake up." I warned him.

"I will if you tell me what happened" he replied. I thought about it and decided to tell him the truth. It would be better than letting him risk his life.

"Alright, I'll tell you the truth" I said "I saw you…in the future"

"What happened?" he asked.

"You died…for real. You gave your life force to save these people who had been trapped in an underground motorway for years. There was a virus that wiped out the surface. You stopped the underground from being destroyed. Then you gave your last breath to provide the Doctor with enough power to release them. The virus had been destroyed and they were released" I explained and I could see Jack coming to understand.

"That's ok. I will be glad to have you there when I die" he said with a smile.

"But that wasn't the worse part" I added.

"What do you mean?" he questioned.

"You know how you still age but slowly?" I said. From the look on his face I could tell that he understood what I was getting at.

"Oh god, what do I end up like?" he asked.

"You don't want to know" I replied.

"You know what. Mabye I don't. I'm sorry for forcing you to tell me. But I am glad that you will be there when I die. I'm sure it will be a great comfort." He said and we left the room and prepared for another day at Torchwood.

Gwen was the first to arrive and as soon as she saw me she screamed and gave me a hug.

"What happened? I can't believe the rift returned you unharmed! We missed you so much" she said and I gave her a brief explanation: That I appeared near the Doctor and he took me home.

"You are so lucky" she said and gave me another hug.

Half an hour later Owen and Tosh arrived and had a very similar reaction.

"We were so worried" she said.

"How come the Doctor didn't return you closer to when you disappeared?" Owen asked.

"He said that I would have just been gone a few hours but I think that his machine got it wrong" I told him.

"Hell yeah he got it wrong" Owen remarked.

"It's not the Doctors fault" Jack told us "the TARDIS' navigation system has broken. It hardly ever goes where he tells it"

"How come he hasn't fixed it?" Owen asked.

"He says that he doesn't know how" Jack replied.

"Jack, there's rift activity. It's quite big." Tosh warned and we all piled into the SUV and another day at Torchwood began.


End file.
